


Just this once, everybody lives!

by Mozart_the_Meerkitten



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Fix-It, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 13:02:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20621471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mozart_the_Meerkitten/pseuds/Mozart_the_Meerkitten
Summary: An Endgame fix-it fic where no one dies and a massive paradox is not caused. At least three parts that deal with the acquiring of the Soul Stone, Thanos' defeat, and the aftermath of the battle.





	Just this once, everybody lives!

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that the first part of this with Steve is not an original theory of mine, it belonged to someone else and I read it and thought it was clever. Unfortunately I don’t know whose idea it was originally, but if you know please tell me and I’ll credit them with it.

“There is something you must know.”  
All eyes turned to Nebula, who did not move from where she stood against the wall, head bowed.  
“Whoever goes to Vormir must pay a price for the Soul Stone. You must sacrifice something or someone that you love. That is why Thanos took Gamora there and killed her.”  
Silence reigned as the impact of her words registered with each of the heroes.  
Then, Steve Rogers stepped forward, arms folded. “I’ll go.”  
“Steve-”  
“I’ll go,” he repeated, his voice booking no argument.  
Tony gave him one anyway. “What are you planning to give up, Cap? Sounds to me like you won’t be able to go alone.”  
Steve smiled tightly. “You should know better than anyone that what you love doesn’t have to be a person, Tony. I’ll go alone and that’s the end of it.”

And as they stared at him standing there, grim and determined, no one dared say anything else against his going.

****************

The space-ship landed smoothly on the surface of the alien planet. Steve stepped out onto the rocky ground, shield strapped to his arm, and took stock of his surroundings.  
“Not a very hospitable place, that’s for sure. No welcome party either,” he said to no one in particular. If Sam were here he would agree. If Bucky were here he would have rolled his eyes and thanked Steve for stating the obvious. If Peggy were here, she’d tell him that they’d better get searching then.  
Steve started down the rocky path but he hadn’t gotten far when an eerily familiar voice stopped him.  
“Well, well, Captain, we meet again at last.”  
Steve whipped around, fist clenching and shield coming up on instinct. There, a few feet behind him, stood Red Skull, clad in a long black cloak.  
Steve narrowed his eyes. “What is this? You died, I saw it, you-”  
He paused, remembering that moment. Red Skull had grabbed the Tesseract and evaporated- or so Steve had assumed. But now that he knew what the Tesseract truly was, he realized….  
“The Tesseract sent you here,” he said, eyes widening.  
“Yes,” agreed Red Skull. “To guard a weapon I could never have, trapped here for all eternity. And now here you are, come to take another Infinity Stone from me,” he smiled darkly. “How fitting.”  
Steve swallowed. “If I kill you, will I be able to take the stone?”  
Red Skull laughed. “No. Only by sacrificing that which you love can the Stone become yours. Just like before, Captain, when you gave up your life to save your friends. Will you allow that misguided heroism to overtake you again?”  
Steve straightened up and looked his enemy in the eye. “Yes,” he said quietly. “A thousand times over, if that’s what it takes to protect the people I care about.”  
“Then what have you brought to surrender?” asked Red Skull. “I see no one with you.”  
“No,” said Steve, quietly. “I came alone.”  
“The stone still requires a price,” warned Red Skull.  
“I know. Just tell me when to pay it.”

Red Skull brought him to a great cliff. Rocks rose up from the ground below like teeth waiting to devour, and Steve suppressed a shudder.  
“You must sacrifice what you care for by casting it over the cliff,” Red Skull informed him. “Then the Stone will be yours.”  
Steve took a deep breath and turned to his old enemy. “I have lost everything that I loved,” he said. “Everything and everyone that I cared for is gone. Peggy, Bucky, Sam, my old life, my parents- all of it is gone. The only thing I’ve had left for these past five years is this.”  
He held up his shield, dull and lifeless in the fading light.  
“So that’s my sacrifice,” Steve said, quietly. “Everything that makes me Captain America, the shield, the serum, all of it, I give it up.”  
He turned and with one fluid motion, flung his shield into the abyss. It clanged and rattled as it fell, and Steve felt a pang in his heart. Then, blackness overtook him, and the last thing he heard was Red Skull’s voice.  
“You are a fool, Captain. Without your strength your quest can never succeed. You are a fool.” 

Then-

Silence.

…

Maybe he had died after all.

****************

The Avengers stood in the time machine’s circle, anxiously awaiting the return of their last member. It wasn’t just that they were worried Steve wouldn’t get the stone, it was that they were worried about what he planned to do to get it… and if he would come back.  
Just as they were all truly starting to worry that something had gone terribly wrong, there was a small whooshing click, and Steve reappeared.  
Or… was it Steve? The man who stood before them had the same blue eyes and blonde hair, the same countenance, even; but he was small and thin and pale, and there was a frailty to him that none of them had ever associated with Captain Steve Rogers before.  
“…Cap?” said Tony, hesitantly.  
Steve lifted his head and grinned at them. “I got the stone,” he held up one of the small boxes they had made to contain the stones. “I even still have this,” he hefted his shield off the ground from where it had been leaning on his legs. “Not sure how it came back with me though.”  
The Avengers stood openmouthed, staring at the smiling, tiny Steve before them.  
“Cap what happened to you?” asked Tony, finally.  
Steve’s smile tightened. “I’m not a Captain anymore, Tony. You were right, everything special about me did come out of a bottle, all I had to do to get the stone was give it up,” he laughed. “Not so bad really, I’m just shorter again, and it’s a little harder to breathe, but I’ll get used to it.”  
“This is what you were like before the serum,” Natasha’s words were a statement, not a question.  
Steve nodded. “Yeah,” he walked over and handed the box to Tony. “Guess it’s up to you guys now. Good luck.”  
He turned and walked off the time machine platform.

If Bucky were here, he would tell him to stop being a dramatic idiot, since there was no way he was going to be able to stop himself from helping the others, no matter how scrawny he was now.  
If Sam were here, he would agree with Bucky.  
If Peggy were here, she’d tell him the same thing.


End file.
